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St. George and the Dragon in Storkyrkan in Stockholm. The face of the
princess is believed to bear the face of Ingeborg Tott.

Lady Ingeborg Åkesdotter Tott (or Ingeborg
Aagesdotter of the Thott), in her lifetime called
Ingeborg Åkesdotter (1440s - Jönköping 1507),
was a Swedish noble, the consort
of the Swedish regent Sten Sture the
elder (reign 1470-97 and 1501-03). She was also the fiefholder and regent of Häme in Finland.

When her spouse was made regent in 1470, she became what would
now be called "first lady" and functioned as the de facto queen consort of
Sweden for over three decades. The marriage produced no heirs.

Contents

Background

Daughter of the Danish noble and knight Axel Åkesson
(1405-1477), governor in the castle of Örebro, and Märtha Bengtsdotter (d. 1480). She
was first married to the noble Sten Bielke. She was engaged to the
Norwegian noble Hans Sigurdsen in 1464, but he died the same year.
She married to Sture in 1467. Her uncle was the spouse of Princess
Magdalena of Sweden, daughter of king Charles and queen Catherine
of Sweden. Another relative was the infamous Brita Tott. Her spouse
was made regent in 1470.

Consort of
the regent

Fru Ingeborg ("lady Ingeborg"), as she was called, was what one
might call a renaissance-personality; highly interested in science, theology and education, and known as the patron of the
development in this issues. She encouraged the foundation of the
first secular university in Sweden, the Uppsala Academy and the Uppsala
University in 1477, and gave large and independent donations
from her own money to print books and finance libraries. She also
took an interest in religion and in the order of the Carmelites; she benefited
the Carmelite convent of Varberg, founded by her father, and supported
the foundation of the first convent of the Carthusian Order
in Sweden, the Carthusian convent of Mariefred (1493). She financed the printing
of Alanus de
Rupes famous Latin book
about the psalm of the Virgin Mary (1498).

She is described as wise, brave, talented, and as the equal and
match of her spouse in these areas. In his absence, she was
recommended for her wise rule over fortresses and counties. During
her spouse's reign, the country was a de facto and independent
nation, though a union with Denmark in name. Despite her Danish
origin, she became known for her loyalty toward her spouse and her
new home country.

During the Battle of Brunkeberg 1471 she
called the poor of Stockholm to the castle of Tre
Kronor and fed them in exchange for their prayers for victory.
She then joined her ladies-in-waiting, who watched the battle
praying for victory from the castle-walls.

In 1483, when her spouse was absent in Gotland, a riot broke out on the streets of
Stockholm: the noble Sten Kristiansson Oxentstierna murdered a
commoner, and the public tried to lynch him. Ingeborg ventured out
on the streets to try to calm down the riot, but was pushed to the
ground and almost trampled to death in the crowds. When her spouse
returned, he became very angry, and had to be prevented by the
parliament from extracting revenge upon the inhabitants of the
city; he did, however, lecture them so severely that the city
remained calm during the rest of his reign.

Later
life

In 1497, the union with Denmark was reestablished, and the
Danish king made regent of Sweden. Ingeborg and her spouse left for
Finland, where they held a
grand court at Tavastehus Castle. In 1501, a rebellion
broke out against Denmark, and her spouse was again made regent.
Stockholm was taken after a siece from the Danish queen, Christina
of Saxony, who at her surrender turned herself over to
Ingeborg, who met her at the castle and followed her to a convent
(1502).

By her participation in her spouse's rebellion against Denmark,
she lost her Danish property: she had in 1476 been given equal
inheritence rights with her brothers after their parents.

After the death of her spouse (1503), Ingeborg withdraw to her
estates. In 1504, she was given the fief of her late spouse, Häme Castle in
Finland for life, were she ruled as an independent regent. In 1505,
the castellan Folke Gregerinpolka tried to take the castle by force
with the support of the council, but Ingeborg was supported by the
public and by some of the nobility, and his troops had to retreat.
Her rule only lasted two more years after this, however: she died
in 1507.

The Princess in the group of sculptures "Sankt Göran och Draken"
(Saint George and the
Dragon) in the Storkyrkan in Stockholm, which were made in
1471-1475, are considered to bear the features of Ingeborg.